International Coaching Week at Catalyst 14

International Coaching Week (ICW) takes place this year from 8 to 14 May 2023. It’s a week-long global celebration of the power and impact of professional coaching.

In support of this event, we’d like to share a key coaching theme for each day of the week, along with supporting resources in aid of your development. You’ll find all these below.

Day 1 — 8 May 2023: Coaching in today’s workplace

Today, we will start with a general theme of coaching in today’s workplace.

If you are new to coaching, we suggest reading our guide to the 5 key learning edges for coaches in training.

If you are an experienced coach, we suggest watching our coaching masterclass Myles Down on leader performance coaching (below).

If you are a leader, you may find our recent blog post on the key characteristics of the leader as coach interesting.

If you are a coachee, you’ll find a lot of value in our blog post on the characteristics of a great coaching relationship.

We also have a resource for organisations: a post sharing our insights on developing a strong internal coaching provision.

Day 2 – 9 May 2023: Developing your authenticity as a Coach

As you begin a professional career as a coach, you’ll become aware of the importance of developing authenticity and congruence as a coach. This is one of the reasons our coach training courses are focused so much on the personal development of the trainee coach.

The more we understand who we truly are, the more we become truly authentic, genuine and real within coaching relationships.   This in turn creates an inner steadiness, resourcefulness and a deeper availability for the coachee. We describe this as a transformational presence, where you become fully embodied and responsive to the present moment in a centered and compassionate way.

To support the development of your authenticity, here are two resources for you:

First up is a blog post we wrote to help coaches deepen their presence as a coach.

Next is a discussion between Liz and Damion on Mindfulness Based Coaching (video below).

Day 3 – 10 May 2023: Coaching vs Therapy

Over the last 30 years, the focus of executive coaching has deepened from an orientation on performance to include a more developmental and existential focus, as coaches and coach training have been heavily influenced from a variety of psychological modalities. 

In view of this continued evolution, we believe it is vital that coaches can recognise and hold the boundaries for a coaching programme compared with therapy.

A helpful steer is to consider the spectrum between developing mental wellbeing (coaching) and supporting mental-ill health (therapy).

To help with your understanding of this important boundary, we wanted to share the following resources with you:

First, a blog post on this topic that identifies key areas to pay attention to.

Second, a webinar we recorded with experienced coaches discussing mental health boundaries within coaching (video below).

And finally, we have a recording of a conversation between Damion Wonfor, the Founder of Catalyst 14, and Monica Ross, Faculty member, on recognising trauma within coaching (video below).

Day 4 – 11 May 2023: Creativity in Coaching

One of the ways coaches can create more challenge within the coaching session is using creative methods. Yet this often remains a learning edge for trainee coaches as they are challenged with the congruence of introducing these within the coaching session. To support your development, we wanted to share some resources on the topic of coaching and creativity with you.

We start with a blog, written for coaches to help them consider key points for authentically introducing these within the coaching process.

We then move to an informative and enjoyable conversation between Damion and Karyn Prentice, Faculty Member, on using creative methods in coaching (video below).

Finally, here is a conversation between Damion and Elaine Patterson, Reflective Thinking Partner, Executive Coach, Coach Supervisor and Writer on how coaches can harness their creativity within their coaching practice.

Day 5 – 12 May 2023: Working with Imposter Syndrome

Imposter Syndrome refers to a persistent inability to believe that one’s success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one’s own efforts or skills. It’s commonly raised as an issue by coachees, and accordingly, coaches are continually looking to deepen their capacity to support their clients in dealing with it.

In addition, it is also a key learning edge that coaches need to work through as they begin to work with Executives. To support your development, here are some of our resources on the topic.

First up we have a webinar in which Damion explores the research completed by Veronica Azua in her doctorate studies on Imposter Syndrome. We also hear from Helen Cowan, who shares her experience of the issue in her work as an executive coach.

Self compassion is a key attitude that a coachee will need to develop when working with their imposter syndrome. So we also recommend that you read our blog post on the importance of self care.

Finally, we’d suggest that you read our blog post about taming your own inner critic.

We hope that you enjoy International Coaching Week, and if we can support you with your coach training or development needs in any way, don’t hesitate to get in touch.